The hedge-wizard Sedgewick gets fairy-fingered.

Having just wrapped up our booth at the Nanyang Education Fair 2008, I’m back at office and it feels like the weekend. =_=. It was heckuva tiring but it was worth it. Over at the fair, I and Gianne were supposed to do demonstrations with an industry concept artist. His work reminded me of how much further I’ve got to go before even reaching the first rest-stop.

He left a few pointers which really made sense so here’s a quicksketch session to put what he showed me to practice. I realize a big difference with watching an online tutorial and being told in person is, I usually don’t grasp what the online tutorial shows me. At times, after watching and assuming I’ve figured out the concept behind the technique, I revert back to my old ways after awhile.

Here I’m trying to put what I learned from the concept artist together with my usual style. I guess I can’t do it fully his way so I’ll just have to improvise.

Demon Monkey-God

I also learned the difference between Concept Art and Production Art, where Concept Art has to be fast and used to explore ideas and variations. Production Art however is a more finished work of art for the production team to work from. I guess the next step after that would be the Promotional Art, where its just gotta look good to sell.

Of course this is just my opinion.

Also congratulations to two of my students for winning consolation prizes in the above 18 category of the Gimli Character Concept Competition. Good job!

Will not be able to attend the Lucasfilm Animation Singapore’s Educator’s Symposium on the 12th of December as some goof-ball policy has moved our graduation dates further up to the 13th. This has caused an incredible amount of inconvenience but hey, if it weren’t inconvenient, it wouldn’t be here.

Character #1 in a series of Super-Villains. Scorch was a rather generic name but he felt so right with it. Based on his name, I am pretty sure you’ve guessed who or what this feller can do. Right-arm flame thrower and armored in a high-tech combat shell, Scorch also has the ability to fly.

Robs banks on weekends.

Occasionally I like to plan my ‘awesome’ apartment.. eventhough I would prefer landed property, the idea of living off the ground appeals to me as a young urban professional. (from ‘Kiasu’). I’m not sure if this has rubbed off on me from my father since he LOVES planning and drawing lay-outs for the house. Little does anyone know that he once dreamed of being an architect.

Well I have never dreamt of being an architect but I do like rearranging my room.

A study-room that is cosy as well as utilitarian. I just had to have that couch with the reading lamp.

Initial sketch…

Using my framing as action lines, hopefully Wolverine here has more of an impact on the Sentinel. White lazer beams from his eyes were more of an aesthetic choice, there was too many colours going on and it made the image rather busy so I dumped the red beams for the white.

Had to bring out Wolverine’s eyes a little with a dark patch otherwise it would have blended itself into obscurity. Upon reflection, maybe I’ll revisit his left arm again, it still looks a little goofy.

Skeletor!!! Arch-nemesis of He-Man. The more I think back about the series, the more I realize perhaps He-Man was gay. The pink tunic is a dead give-away.

This was done in Illustrator, a software that is strangely enough, seldom used for Illustration (bt students). I was trying to go for a really contrasting background to clash with Skeletor’s sickly blue. I always imagine Skeletor as a wierdo shaman but wikipedia tells me that he’s the brother of some king and was formerly a man named Keldor.

A Goblin and his pie.

Stealing a lady’s fresh pork pie,
Could only be done by someone sly,
Someone nimble and fingers fleet,
Someone cunning and quite discreet,
So enjoy your bounty my filching shrew,
For if you don’t tell, then I won’t too.

I’m wondering if a scanned line-art would work better than something draw directly on-screen using a tablet. Or does it not matter? An australian colleague commented on the flow of lines being different but I think that’s for another time.

Fixed the nose somewhat, the earlier line-art looked a little too much like he was digging his nostrils. Had fun doing the pie though. Maybe I should have cut out a slice to reveal was within. A hot steaming pork pie.
I personally feel I should have added in some steam rising from the pie.

I’m not on a rhyming kick, it is just that I happen to post them in batches.

T’was a dwarf with a beard,
Who dissed a bright wizard,
They started to fight,
Got his beard set alight,
He was short but brilliantly bright.

The Mamak Man

Thosai thosai on the pan,
Where oh where is the mamak man?
It’s been hours since I last told,
the mamak man, my food is cold.

There’s a fly in my dhal,
It’s simmering there,
And if I’m not mistaken,
It is perched on a hair.

My teh ais is watery and my kopi is weak,
And my roti was probably from sometime last week,
So mamak man bring me my thosai please,
For I did not order this naan with cheese.

lash CS4 is out,… well the whole suite is out anyways and it is looking incredible! This is from a Flash animator’s point of view. Bones with Inverse kinematics, 3D tools, upgraded path animation tool are amongst the few fabulous things that are available in the new suite. Move over After Effects!,…

Abstract

For the first time, my class was empty today. Not one, nada, zilch. The students were either busy with other assignments, gormless or didn’t give a darn about it. I was feeling listless and a little abstract so I created this. It calms me somewhat and is a good form of practice in shadows and lighting.

Yein’s reaction to my asking her what this was ,”Aaargh I don’t wanna think!”

Exactly the feeling.

Looking back at my artwork, though plentiful, I realize that I don’t really have a STRONG identity or better known as style. It’s more or less a mix-match of anything I can create utilizing specific software. I think I have a too broad a style when I should really be developing an individual technique which is mine and mine alone.

Will have to look into that.

A little exercise for the students in painting through observation. Leaves are real tho’…